Love triangle twist in woodchipper murder

POLICE are reportedly investigating a love triangle motive in the grisly murder of popular country butcher Bruce Saunders.

Mr Saunders, 54, died after he became trapped in a woodchipper while clearing a female friend's property at Goomboorian near Gympie in Queensland last November.

When police were called to the "horrific" scene after Mr Saunders was said to have fallen into the vegetation shredder, they initially thought it was a tragic accident.

The make of woodchipper in which popular butcher Bruce Saunders died a grisly death last November.

It was around 7.40pm on Sunday, November 12, and Mr Saunders was mulching branches with the woodchipper when it was just beginning to get dark.

It was his third weekend helping out "as an act of goodwill' to a woman who had been recently widowed.

Working with Mr Saunders on the property, which is around 200km north of Brisbane in a diverse farming district, were two other adult males.

Bruce Saunders was interviewed by the Seven Network about his butcher shop several years before his tragic death.

Mr Saunders became caught in the woodchipper and died.

Gympie Police acting inspector Paul Algie later said after visiting the property that it was "one of the worst incident scenes I've ever seen".

Inspector Algie said at the time the two male friends tried to save Mr Saunders after he became entangled in branches and was dragged into the woodchipper.

The crime scene on the Goomboorian property which police described as “horrific”.

"It was actually quite horrific. His friends discovered him as he became entangled and attempted to extract him from the shredder and were unable to do so. So they're obviously quite traumatised now," Inspector Algie said at the time.

But after reinterviewing the two men and other witnesses, detectives raided the property earlier this month and seized "items of interest".